My original intention was to upload this novel one chapter at a time - as a blog. But I discovered that blogspot puts up the most recent chapter at the top, so that one is reading the chapters in reverse order. Thankfully Toni has offered me this space. Where I will begin - as all storytellers should - with the first 3 chapters.

Now that John John has been made into a paperback - thanks very much bibliophilia for giving me the opportunity to showcase my work - I thought I'd start blogging '2 Bridgwater Days', and begin with the first half of the Prologue....

By james walker
Published: March 11, 2008
Updated: March 11, 2008PrintEmail

Synopsis:

It is 1904. A letter is found hidden in an old book describing the burial in a ravine of a treasure taken from Moscow in 1812. The drama unfolds with the advance of Napoleonís grand army into Russia, and relates its terrible retreat through the eyes of Michael Korsowski, a Polish cavalry officer. Meanwhile, the heroine of the tale, Ellen Charpentier, waits and hopes for his deliverance. After the discovery of the treasure, those who survive the retreat do so in the expectation of being able to share it. However, more suffering and death await them during the campaign of 1813 that brings Napoleonís Empire to its knees. To safeguard the treasure, Michael and a few fellow survivors bury it. Michael then nearly dies of typhus, and on what he believes to be his death bed writes the letter that is to survive untouched until 1904, as it is never sent to its intended destination. Michaelís aide-de-camp, Piotr Florentin, betrays him after initially saving his life. Michael retrieves the treasure before he can, and when he offers him a far smaller share of its value than he believes he deserves, he decides with the help of an accomplice, to kidnap Ellen and hold her to ransom. A quantity of gold is handed over to secure her release, but the accomplice murders Florentin and tries to flee the country with the gold. Following a duel in which he is about to kill Michael, he is shot dead by Michaelís rival for Ellenís affections, George Dupont. Then, After fighting at Waterloo, and warn out by his wounds, Michael dies in early 1816, leaving Ellen pregnant, and she almost dies in child birth. Fortunately, she has the services of an able physician, who successfully performs a caesarean operation, which she and the baby both survive. Some while later she marries George. Again it is 1904 and the letter is sent on a journey that will take it to the French Embassy in London. A real letter did reach the Embassy that year. It could have been a clever hoax, but who can say for sure. The ravine still exists and some of the events of 1813 are accurately described in the letter on old enough paper to date from the Napoleonic era.